Most people breezing down Route 50 to the beach pass by the town of Trappe and don’t even know it’s there. Tom Mitchell is in the process of changing that.
Mitchell has opened two eateries in town: The Coffee Trappe and Momma Maria’s Mediterranean Bistro & Bar. The one that really has people at attention is Maria’s. He bought the property of the old Mitchum’s Tavern. Mitchell, a long-time Trappe resident, thoroughly renovated the space, and in the first few months, his new restaurant has been a roaring success. “We turned away over 100 people for dinner on Friday night and Saturday night one weekend,” Mitchell says of the early goings. He named the restaurant after his wife Maria, who has had Alzheimer’s for about a decade.
The restaurant’s atmosphere is inspired by his wife’s Greek heritage. The menu is built around her recipes, which includes ones for deserts, appetizers, and main dishes. And two eye-catching paintings “set the tone” for the dining experience.
We recently sat down with Mitchell to talk about what makes Momma Maria’s stand out, the customer favorites, and how the Coffee Trappe impacts the restaurant.
What was the inspiration for the restaurant?
It used to be a sleepy little town with a rich history. There have been a number of attempts at putting in restaurants into Mitchum’s. It started off very well, but they had some issues. Then a couple of other people attempted to open places here. There was nothing there for year or so. It seemed like an opportunity. If you look at Route 50 from Easton to Cambridge, there no place to stop even for a sandwich. Our plan was to provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Dinner will be at Momma Maria’s. Across from Maria’s is the old bank of Trappe. The building has been there for over 100 years. So we call that Coffee Trappe now. We renovated the inside and made it customer friendly. We got a lot of vibe there and in the restaurant. We start serving breakfast and lunch at Coffee Trappe. That has become extremely popular.
What separates your restaurant from others?
We have a very good staff of servers. They didn’t bring any bad habits. They were trained by Bunny Murphy. She is from Manhattan and has owned and run restaurants. She knows the ins and outs of the front end of the business. She has done a really good job of training the servers. We get a lot of compliments on not only the food, but the servers. I try to be there every night and I go around to every table. I talk to the customers and find out where they are from. Ninety percent of them thank me for opening the restaurant. They say, “It’s good and fills a void.”
Mitchum’s went out of business. What are you going to do differently to get by and what did you do to the building?
I have a pretty good track record of buying and running businesses. This is my first restaurant. I tell people, “My only qualifications are that I like to eat and drink.” We repainted everything. We have two beautiful murals that were painted by our PR lady, Alison Ford. One of them is a chalk painting of Santorini, a Greek island. It’s my wife’s favorite island. The other is of an Italian vineyard.
We also have a great big wood cast burning pizza oven, a little room called the bistro room, and a very long, old bar. The lady who owned Mitchum’s put it in.
In a small, out-of-the way-place like Trappe, how do you build clientele?
We do a lot of social media and word of mouth. We have signs on Route 50. I have been around town along time and know a lot of people. I met a lot of nice groups. The country club group and some golfing groups. I have been involved in some charities. People know me and want to come down and support me and see what it’s like. It’s turned out to be really good.
Can you talk about why you named the restaurant after you wife?
It’s a personal story. She is Greek, a great mother, cook, and baker. She is in her ninth year with Alzheimer’s. She’s home with twenty-four, seven care. So my kids and I decided to open Maria’s in her honor. We have added some of her recipes. That is the story behind Momma Maria’s. We have some Greek and Italian influence.
Did your wife have a real passion for food?
Absolutely. She absolutely loved to cook. She was a Greek lady and did a lot of cooking. She did great baking and baked a lot of pies and cakes and baklava. She made great food. Plus, she’s a mother. We are doing the restaurant to honor her.
Tell me about your executive chef, Michael Quattrucci.
He is very talented and designed our menu. He spent seven years at the Talbot Country Club. His father lives in the Virgin Islands, so he goes there and has worked in restaurants there. That is one place we get some coffee beans. He also is from Maine and has a source for great seafood from there. He helped open the Tidewater Inn and Pascal’s Chop House in Severna Park. We also have two talented sous chefs, and one of them is a pizza specialist. One of ours goals was to have the best pizza in the area, and I think we do.
Has the coffee shop impacted Momma Maria’s?
It complements the restaurant. We opened that first. Many people go there and find out about the restaurant and come there. A lot of people would have had either lunch or breakfast and come over for dinner. There’s a certain synergy between the two.
What are the customer favorites?
Moroccan-braised beef short ribs is our biggest seller. It has roasted mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts with au jus sauce. We are going to have Monday night prime rib night. I don’t think anybody does it the way we do it. The crab cake is also popular. It has fresh crab meat. The crab cake dinner and sandwich are outstanding.
Shrimp Feta
Serves 3–4
Ingredients
- 1 lb. package vermicelli
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 lbs. shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 1/3 cup feta cheese
- 1 tsp. crushed garlic
- 28 oz. can tomato wedges
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/2 tsp. dried whole basil
- 1 tsp. dried whole oregano
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- Fresh basil (optional)
Directions
Cook vermicelli. Set aside and keep warm. Sauté shrimp and red pepper with 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet for 5 minutes until pink. Arrange shrimp in a 10x6x2 baking dish; sprinkle with feta cheese and set aside. Add remaining oil to skillet and sauté garlic over low heat; add tomatoes and their juice. Cook one minute. Stir in wine and next four ingredients. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Spoon tomato mixture over shrimp. Bake uncovered in a 400-degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and spoon shrimp mixture over portioned vermicelli. Sprinkle with fresh basil.
